The Black Swan is one of my favorite books, if only because it proves the absurdity and unpredictability of life. It ratified something I had suspected for many years: Nobody has any idea what's going to happen next.
Take the volcano ash, for example. I don't imagine a lot of people this week thought that they could wake up on Thursday to find that a large volcanic eruption in Iceland had pretty much shut down most air travel in Europe... and that it might extend through the weekend. Just like CEO of Bear Stearns played golf, having no clue that his company could be vaporized in a matter of days. Whoops! Yes, Nassim Nicholas Taleb is onto something. Black Swans happen all the time!
So let's review the strange and unpredictable things that are happening on this news day:

Description: Happly is the iPad app featured by Apple and Techcrunch that provides parents with a cool new interface where their kids can discover family-approved videos and activities curated by a team of world-renown experts on topics your kids will love.

Description: RockYou! creates and distributes the most popular self-expression widgets on the web. RockYou!'s viral accessories can be used to enhance the look and feel of any blog, personal website, and are used on social networks like MySpace, Bebo, or Facebook.

Purpose: RockYou will use this funding from Columbia Capital to continue growing and diversifying its audience through partnerships with developers of established, still-popular games and to further expand its mobile offerings.